Handwheel for valves



y F. YARDLEY 2,118,128

HANDWHEEL FOR VALVES Filed Oct. 27, 1936 Patented May 24, 1938 UNITED STATES HAND'WHEEL FOR VALVES Farnham Yardley, West Orange, N. J., assignor to Jenkins Bros., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 27, 1936, Serial No. 107,878

6 Claims.

My invention relates to handwheels for valves and has for its principal object to provide a handwheel which may be firmly and comfortably gripped and which will not slip from the grasp of an operator.

A primary feature of the invention consists in providing the rim of the handwheel with a plurality of ring-like members spaced longitudinally of the axis of the wheel, the ring-like members having correspondingly located indentations in their peripheries and being connected by ribs located adjacent the central portions of the indentations and at points intermediate the indentations.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing the handwheel with a plurality of alternately reversely curved ribs connecting the ring-like members of the rim which are of unequal diameter and are spaced longitudinally of the axis of the wheel.

A further feature of the invention consists in providing the rim of the wheel with two sub stantially concentric ring-like members spaced longitudinally of the axis of the wheel, the ringlike members respectively consisting of a plurality of correspondingly disposed concave segments which are connected adjacent their extremities by convex ribs and adjacent their central portions by concave ribs.

Other and more specific features of the invention, residing in advantageous forms, combinations and relations of parts, will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the handwheel. Figure 2 is a plan view of the handwheel. Figure 3 is a view showing the handwheel mounted on a valve stem, the wheel being partly in section and partly in elevation.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of Figure 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the handwheel comprises generally a hub l, a rim 2 and arms 3 connecting the hub and rim. The hub is provided with a square opening 4 for receiving the reduced upper end of a valve stem 5 which, although being square for the major part of its length to conform to the opening in the hub, terminates in a cylindrical screw threaded portion for receiving a nut 6 by which the handwheel is firmly connected to the valve stem. To effect a very rigid connection between the handwheel and the valve stem, the opening in the hub preferably increases in cross sectional area toward its lower end so as to have wedging engagement with the squared portion of the valve stem which decreases in cross sectional'area toward its upper end.

The rim 2 is provided with two substantially concentric upper and lower ring-like members I and 8, respectively, which are spaced from each other in the direction of the axis of the wheel. The upper ring-like member I is of smaller diameter than the lower ring-like member 8 and each is preferably composed of a plurality of correspondingly disposed concave segments 9 so as to provide the periphery of the rim with indentations.

The ring-like members are integrally connected by a plurality of ribs III which are respectively located adjacent the extremities of the concave segments and they are also connected by a plurality of ribs l l respectively located adjacent the central portions of the segments. As the extremities of the concave segments of each ringlike member are disposed a greater distance from the axis of the handwheel than the central portions of the segments, it will be perceived that ribs ID are spaced a greater distance from the axis than ribs II and they, therefore, afford abutments against which the fingers of an operator may bear in rotating the wheel.

Although ribs Ill and H may be straight, it is preferred, in order to increase the effectiveness of ribs ID as abutments, tomakev the latter ribs convex and the ribs ll concave. This results in materially increasing the effective depth of the indentations in the periphery of the rim and enables such an exceedingly firm grip to be obtained upon the Wheel that, even though the hand of the operator be wet, it will not slip. In addition to providing means for obtaining greater driving power, the convex ribs l0 materially increase the strength of the handwheel without substantially increasing its weight.

By spacing the ring-like members longitudinally of the axis of the wheel and connecting them with ribs, it will be evident that heat transmitted from the hub to the rim will be rapidly dissipated and that, without substantially increasing its weight, the wheel may be made of such height as to provide sufiiciently large contact areas for the fingers of an operator that it may be firmly gripped without discomfort. The force exerted by the operator need not, therefore, be restricted to the power obtained by the ends of the fingers, as is the case in operating wheels of low height and, since it is possible for the fingers of the operator to nest comfortably within the depressions, greater purchasing power is obtainable with less effort.

The increased height of the wheel also enables the hub to be offset sufiiciently below the top of the rimwithout impairing the strength of the wheel that the upper end of the valve stem as Well as the securing nut 6 will be disposed below portions spaced from each other in the direction of the axis of the hub and a plurality of ribs connecting said ring-like portions, said ribs being alternately reversely curved. i V

2. A handwheel for valves and the like including a hub' portion, 'and a'rim connected to the hub, said rim comprising two substantially concentric ring-like portions of unequal diameter spaced longitudinally of the axis of the hub and alternately arranged convex and concave 'ribs connecting said ring-like portions.

3. A handwheel for valves and the like including a hub portion, and a rim' connected to the hub, said rim comprising two substantially concentric ring-like members of unequal diameter spaced longitudinally of the axis of the hub, corresponding portions of the peripheries of said ring-like members being provided with indentations, and ribs respectively connecting the ring' like members at the ends of said indentations and at points between the ends of theindentations, the ribs connecting the ring-like members at the ends of the indentations being convexly curved and the ribs connecting the ring-like members between the ends of the indentations being spaced inwardly of a surface of revolution generated by a straight line passing through the opposite ends of the convexly curved ribs.

4. A handwheel for valves and the like including a hub portion, and a rim connected to the hub, said rim comprising two substantially concentric ring-like members of unequal diameter spaced longitudinally of the axis of the hub, corresponding portions of the peripheries'of said ring-like members being provided with indentations, convex ribs connecting the ring-like members at the ends of said indentations and concave ribs connecting the ring-like members adjacent the central portions of the indentations.

5. A handwheel for valves and the like including a hub portion, and a rim connected to the hub, said rim comprising two substantially concentric ring-likemembers of unequal diameter spaced longitudinally of the axis of the hub, said ring-like members respectively consisting of a plurality of correspondingly disposed concave segments, convex ribs connecting the ring-like members at points adjacent the extremities 'of said concave segments and concave ribs connecting the ring-like members adjacent the central portions of said segments.

6. A handwheel for valves including a hub formed with an opening for receiving a valve stem, a plurality of ring-like members of unequal diameter spaced axially of said hub and carried thereby, one of said ring-like members being-spaced forwardly of the outer end of said hub and each of said ring-like members having correspondingly disposed concavely curved segments providing the periphery of the Wheel with a plurality of indentations, and peripherally a spaced ribs respectively connecting said ring-like members at the ends'of said concave segments and at points intermediate theirends, the ribs connecting the ring-like members intermediate the ends of the concave segments being concavely curved and the ribs connecting the ring-like members at the ends of said-segments being spaced outwardly of a surface of revolution generated by a straight line passingthrough'the opposite ends of the concavely curved ribs.

FARNHAM YARDLEY. 

